The organization was allegedly illegally transporting migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan to Europe in refrigerated trucks, crossing through Spain and France to Great Britain. According to the Spanish civil guard, five of the six arrests took place in Valencia, with the sixth in Bilbao.

Group used trucks and trains in trafficking operation 

The Spanish investigations began in February 2017, after refrigerated trucks were intercepted containing 15 Iraqi Kurds who were hidden among crates of fruits and vegetables. There were eight 13-year-olds amongst the group.

The first truck, which was stopped on February 15 in a service area in Ferreruela de Huerva in the Aragon region was smuggling an entire Iraqi family in the refrigerated trailer, including both parents and four children. On the same day, two other Iraqis were found on a refrigerated truck in Chiva, in the province of Valencia. Both vehicles, from the Levante area of Spain, were stocked with vegetables, and were headed towards Great Britain.

On March 10, agents intercepted another eight Iraqi Kurds, four of whom were minors, at a service area of Villafranca del Campo (Teruel). The agents had heard the migrants' cries for help coming from inside the truck's refrigerated trailer. They were afraid they would freeze to death.

Spanish Civil Guard creates joint task force

After several similar incidents, Spanish civil guard agents created a joint task force with agents from the national police which was coordinated by the country's national intelligence center against terrorism and organized crime. The objective behind the cooperation was to dismantle the criminal network behind this illegal migration.

The investigation initially centered on an Iraqi citizen who had taken Spanish citizenship and was living in Valencia. It then expanded to cover other members of the organization in other EU countries, where some lived or traveled frequently, to avoid being identified.

The probe allowed agents to uncover two routes that the network was using to transfer Iraqi citizens, particularly families with children, to Great Britain. The first was the Cantabrico-Mediterranean corridor, up to the northern Spain crossings at Santurtzi and Santander. The second was through border crossings from the north of Spain to Calais and Dunkirk.

According to investigators, the organization was able to load undocumented migrants into trucks, after tampering with the trucks' locking systems, without leaving any signs of forced entry. The trafficking also took place via airplanes or aboard campers. The price varied from 3,000 euros per person for a passage in the refrigerated trucks, to 10,000 euros per person aboard airplanes or campers with false documents.